Memorials and Tributes By TOM HAWTHORN
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 Page S9
Victoria -
- Gerry Deiter, whose photographs of John Lennon's 1969 bed-in went unseen for more than 30 years, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Mr. Deiter was on assignment for Life magazine when he spent eight days photographing the famous Beatle and artist Yoko Ono in bed at Suite 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Life never published the photographs. Mr. Deiter only revealed his collection as part of an effort to promote peace following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The photos have since been widely praised, both for their intimacy and their documentary rigour. Twenty-five of Mr. Deiter's works are currently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Mr. Deiter took part in events at the museum on Thursday marking the 25th anniversary of Mr. Lennon's death. Mr. Deiter later appeared on a live radio broadcast. He collapsed the following day while walking downtown. Born on Oct. 20, 1934, in Brooklyn, Mr. Deiter was a Manhattan fashion photographer before moving to Montreal in protest against the Vietnam War. While his bed-in photographs were bumped from the magazine by the death of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Deiter completed several assignments for Time magazine. He also sailed with Greenpeace to protest against a nuclear bomb test in Alaska. Mr. Deiter, who was represented by the Elliott Louis Gallery of Vancouver, lived aboard a boat docked in Victoria's Inner Harbour. In summer, he cruised the coast, photographing landscapes as well as the disappearing fishery and forestry industries. His bed-in photos achieved widespread distribution in recent years. They were included in an exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel last year and can be seen on the recent documentary John and Yoko: Give Peace a Song. Friends will gather on Dec.18 at Swans Brew Pub in Victoria, a short walk from his boat's moorage and a place where Mr. Deiter could be found recounting tales of his friendships with artist Peter Max, poet Allen Ginsberg and Beat writer Jack Kerouac.
Biography / Eulogy
Gerry Deiter 1933-2005 Humanarchive S7D2 Biography Gerry Deiter was born on October 20 1933 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He started experimenting with photography before he was in his teens, wandering the city and recording its color, and teaching himself composition and darkroom technique as he did. He attended university in New York City, and was active in the anti-Viet Nam war movement from the early 1960s. As part of his training, Gerry apprenticed to several of New Yorks top fashion photographers, including the late Francesco Scavullo. He was also recording the exciting contemporary art scene in the city of the mid-60s, including one of the most avant-garde group of artists, The Fluxus Group, of which Yoko Ono was a founder. He photographed many now-legendary jazz musicians, and produced the photos for two early album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. In 1968, the political atmosphere in the US, especially the continuing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, impelled him to move to Montréal, where he continued working in fashion, as well as photographing the colourful and exciting arts and music scene there. In June, 1969 he learned from a friend at LIFE Magazine that John Lennon and Yoko Ono planned to take to bed in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and to invite the entire world to join them, symbolically, in working to restore peace to the world. He and the LIFE writer were granted one of the first interviews with John and Yoko, and Gerry was with them, photographing, for the entire eight days of the Bed-In. Due to a major international news story that broke unexpectedly, LIFE never published the story, and Gerry eventually filed the photos away. But his work came to the attention of TIME Canadas art director, and with this opportunity he eschewed fashion and commercial photography and devoted himself to photojournalism. Gerry worked as a stringer for TIME for the next six years, covering Canadas political scene, counter-culture, and the burgeoning environmental movement. He was a crew member and photographer aboard Greenpeace Too in 1971, on that organizations first campaign to halt the atomic test at Amchitka Island in the Gulf of Alaska, and received credits in TIME and LIFE for his coverage of that story. Another Greenpeace mission 20 years later saw him and his teen-aged son sail together aboard the Rainbow Warrior to protest the opening of a US Navy nuclear submarine testing facility near Ketchikan, Alaska. It wasnt until 30 years after the Bed-In that Gerrys son and friends prevailed upon him to make his images of John and Yoko available to the public. He says the widespread mourning that took place in December 2000, on the 20th anniversary of Johns murder, as well as the growing interest in Johns peace legacy, were the other deciding factors. The events subsequent to September 11th helped convince him the world had to be reminded of Johns message of peace and compassion. Although a working photographer since his early 20s, Gerrys prints had never before been displayed as art; in frames and on walls, as he puts it. Until his first show at a California gallery in 2001, magazine and fashion photography and, primarily, photojournalism were the media through which hes communicated his message. Some of the Bed-In photos were also on exhibition as giclee reproductions for eight weeks at the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria, B.C.
Favorite Verse
In his own words... I had no one to share my grief with. Sitting aboard my boat in an isolated coastal town in northern BC, CBCs evening concert was interrupted by a news flash: John Lennon had just been shot in New York city and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Typically, the first reaction to such news is to immediately share the grief with someone, a loved one, but my grief was more terrible since I was alone, a stranger in a strange place, with no means of contacting the outside world. I thought Id have to carry this burden myself, but as news reports emerged, I learned that crowds were gathering in Central Park and heaping flowers, lighting candles, and singing. I was not alone; the world was sharing my grief. Years before, I had looked into Johns and Yokos eyes and saw their love. I had laughed with them and shared their joy. My mind now travelled back 11 years to June 1, 1969, where in suite 1742 of Montréals Queen Elizabeth Hotel, I participated in, and photographed, the controlled chaos of the Bed-In for Peace. John, with dark, shoulder-length hair and full beard looked like Jesus in white pajamas, while Yoko, her long tresses draped over her shoulder, wore a long, white nightgown. For a week, they had received visitors as they lay in bed; hundreds of people had been through the room: politicians and celebrities, journalists and reporters, photographers, poets, artists, and hundreds of young people whod waited hours in a hot, stuffy hallway to bring gifts and perhaps even have a word with John and Yoko. The event marked the beginning of Lennons ascension from rock star to the leader of a worldwide peace movement. Were not against anything, hed told an interviewer. We are for peace. Earlier that week, John and Yoko had received a phone call from Berkeley, California, where a serious confrontation was shaping up between police and hundreds of people who had been camping in Peoples Park. The conflict had been going on for days, and the obviously frightened caller told John and Yoko that the riot squad was preparing to move in. He asked what message he should pass along to the people. John urged them not to resist physically, but to try and minimize the violence instead. Yoko then picked up the phone and spoke these famous words: All we are saying is give peace a chance. Several days later, John scrawled those words on a poster board and expanded upon them. That evening, a recording studio was set up in the suite and about 40 people, including TV star Tom Smothers and LSD guru Dr. Timothy Leary, surrounded the bed and sang those words in chorus, as John called out the lyrics. In the 36 years since they were recorded, these words have become the root of the first truly global peace anthem, sung in every language, and in every land, where people oppose tyranny and war. John had outgrown his Beatles persona; with Yoko, he continued his work for world peace and justice until he was assassinated. His example, along with the now famous words, became his legacy to the world. The events subsequent to September 11, 2001 made me realize that, more than ever, the world needed to hear John and Yokos message of peace, compassion, and understanding. I could feel Johns presence at my side, giving me his energy and urging me to help him in his campaign. I also realized that the photographs I took during those eight days in Montréal were my own legacy. For the past five years, I have shown the photos and talked about their message in art galleries, movie houses, museums, coffee shops, and music festivals in the US and Canada. They have also previously appeared on the pages of Common Ground. To help remind people that this December 8 marks 25 years since Johns physical voice was silenced, my images will appear at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria as a complementary exhibit to the photo exhibit Linda McCartneys Sixties. I feel privileged to help bring Johns message to the world.
- Gerry Deiter, whose photographs of John Lennon's 1969 bed-in went unseen for more than 30 years, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Mr. Deiter was on assignment for Life magazine when he spent eight days photographing the famous Beatle and artist Yoko Ono in bed at Suite 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Life never published the photographs. Mr. Deiter only revealed his collection as part of an effort to promote peace following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The photos have since been widely praised, both for their intimacy and their documentary rigour. Twenty-five of Mr. Deiter's works are currently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Mr. Deiter took part in events at the museum on Thursday marking the 25th anniversary of Mr. Lennon's death. Mr. Deiter later appeared on a live radio broadcast. He collapsed the following day while walking downtown. Born on Oct. 20, 1934, in Brooklyn, Mr. Deiter was a Manhattan fashion photographer before moving to Montreal in protest against the Vietnam War. While his bed-in photographs were bumped from the magazine by the death of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Deiter completed several assignments for Time magazine. He also sailed with Greenpeace to protest against a nuclear bomb test in Alaska. Mr. Deiter, who was represented by the Elliott Louis Gallery of Vancouver, lived aboard a boat docked in Victoria's Inner Harbour. In summer, he cruised the coast, photographing landscapes as well as the disappearing fishery and forestry industries. His bed-in photos achieved widespread distribution in recent years. They were included in an exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel last year and can be seen on the recent documentary John and Yoko: Give Peace a Song. Friends will gather on Dec.18 at Swans Brew Pub in Victoria, a short walk from his boat's moorage and a place where Mr. Deiter could be found recounting tales of his friendships with artist Peter Max, poet Allen Ginsberg and Beat writer Jack Kerouac.
Biography / Eulogy
Gerry Deiter 1933-2005 Humanarchive S7D2 Biography Gerry Deiter was born on October 20 1933 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He started experimenting with photography before he was in his teens, wandering the city and recording its color, and teaching himself composition and darkroom technique as he did. He attended university in New York City, and was active in the anti-Viet Nam war movement from the early 1960s. As part of his training, Gerry apprenticed to several of New Yorks top fashion photographers, including the late Francesco Scavullo. He was also recording the exciting contemporary art scene in the city of the mid-60s, including one of the most avant-garde group of artists, The Fluxus Group, of which Yoko Ono was a founder. He photographed many now-legendary jazz musicians, and produced the photos for two early album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. In 1968, the political atmosphere in the US, especially the continuing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, impelled him to move to Montréal, where he continued working in fashion, as well as photographing the colourful and exciting arts and music scene there. In June, 1969 he learned from a friend at LIFE Magazine that John Lennon and Yoko Ono planned to take to bed in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and to invite the entire world to join them, symbolically, in working to restore peace to the world. He and the LIFE writer were granted one of the first interviews with John and Yoko, and Gerry was with them, photographing, for the entire eight days of the Bed-In. Due to a major international news story that broke unexpectedly, LIFE never published the story, and Gerry eventually filed the photos away. But his work came to the attention of TIME Canadas art director, and with this opportunity he eschewed fashion and commercial photography and devoted himself to photojournalism. Gerry worked as a stringer for TIME for the next six years, covering Canadas political scene, counter-culture, and the burgeoning environmental movement. He was a crew member and photographer aboard Greenpeace Too in 1971, on that organizations first campaign to halt the atomic test at Amchitka Island in the Gulf of Alaska, and received credits in TIME and LIFE for his coverage of that story. Another Greenpeace mission 20 years later saw him and his teen-aged son sail together aboard the Rainbow Warrior to protest the opening of a US Navy nuclear submarine testing facility near Ketchikan, Alaska. It wasnt until 30 years after the Bed-In that Gerrys son and friends prevailed upon him to make his images of John and Yoko available to the public. He says the widespread mourning that took place in December 2000, on the 20th anniversary of Johns murder, as well as the growing interest in Johns peace legacy, were the other deciding factors. The events subsequent to September 11th helped convince him the world had to be reminded of Johns message of peace and compassion. Although a working photographer since his early 20s, Gerrys prints had never before been displayed as art; in frames and on walls, as he puts it. Until his first show at a California gallery in 2001, magazine and fashion photography and, primarily, photojournalism were the media through which hes communicated his message. Some of the Bed-In photos were also on exhibition as giclee reproductions for eight weeks at the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria, B.C.
Favorite Verse
In his own words... I had no one to share my grief with. Sitting aboard my boat in an isolated coastal town in northern BC, CBCs evening concert was interrupted by a news flash: John Lennon had just been shot in New York city and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Typically, the first reaction to such news is to immediately share the grief with someone, a loved one, but my grief was more terrible since I was alone, a stranger in a strange place, with no means of contacting the outside world. I thought Id have to carry this burden myself, but as news reports emerged, I learned that crowds were gathering in Central Park and heaping flowers, lighting candles, and singing. I was not alone; the world was sharing my grief. Years before, I had looked into Johns and Yokos eyes and saw their love. I had laughed with them and shared their joy. My mind now travelled back 11 years to June 1, 1969, where in suite 1742 of Montréals Queen Elizabeth Hotel, I participated in, and photographed, the controlled chaos of the Bed-In for Peace. John, with dark, shoulder-length hair and full beard looked like Jesus in white pajamas, while Yoko, her long tresses draped over her shoulder, wore a long, white nightgown. For a week, they had received visitors as they lay in bed; hundreds of people had been through the room: politicians and celebrities, journalists and reporters, photographers, poets, artists, and hundreds of young people whod waited hours in a hot, stuffy hallway to bring gifts and perhaps even have a word with John and Yoko. The event marked the beginning of Lennons ascension from rock star to the leader of a worldwide peace movement. Were not against anything, hed told an interviewer. We are for peace. Earlier that week, John and Yoko had received a phone call from Berkeley, California, where a serious confrontation was shaping up between police and hundreds of people who had been camping in Peoples Park. The conflict had been going on for days, and the obviously frightened caller told John and Yoko that the riot squad was preparing to move in. He asked what message he should pass along to the people. John urged them not to resist physically, but to try and minimize the violence instead. Yoko then picked up the phone and spoke these famous words: All we are saying is give peace a chance. Several days later, John scrawled those words on a poster board and expanded upon them. That evening, a recording studio was set up in the suite and about 40 people, including TV star Tom Smothers and LSD guru Dr. Timothy Leary, surrounded the bed and sang those words in chorus, as John called out the lyrics. In the 36 years since they were recorded, these words have become the root of the first truly global peace anthem, sung in every language, and in every land, where people oppose tyranny and war. John had outgrown his Beatles persona; with Yoko, he continued his work for world peace and justice until he was assassinated. His example, along with the now famous words, became his legacy to the world. The events subsequent to September 11, 2001 made me realize that, more than ever, the world needed to hear John and Yokos message of peace, compassion, and understanding. I could feel Johns presence at my side, giving me his energy and urging me to help him in his campaign. I also realized that the photographs I took during those eight days in Montréal were my own legacy. For the past five years, I have shown the photos and talked about their message in art galleries, movie houses, museums, coffee shops, and music festivals in the US and Canada. They have also previously appeared on the pages of Common Ground. To help remind people that this December 8 marks 25 years since Johns physical voice was silenced, my images will appear at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria as a complementary exhibit to the photo exhibit Linda McCartneys Sixties. I feel privileged to help bring Johns message to the world.
Memorials and Tributes By TOM HAWTHORN
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 Page S9
Victoria -
- Gerry Deiter, whose photographs of John Lennon's 1969 bed-in went unseen for more than 30 years, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Mr. Deiter was on assignment for Life magazine when he spent eight days photographing the famous Beatle and artist Yoko Ono in bed at Suite 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Life never published the photographs. Mr. Deiter only revealed his collection as part of an effort to promote peace following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The photos have since been widely praised, both for their intimacy and their documentary rigour. Twenty-five of Mr. Deiter's works are currently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Mr. Deiter took part in events at the museum on Thursday marking the 25th anniversary of Mr. Lennon's death. Mr. Deiter later appeared on a live radio broadcast. He collapsed the following day while walking downtown. Born on Oct. 20, 1934, in Brooklyn, Mr. Deiter was a Manhattan fashion photographer before moving to Montreal in protest against the Vietnam War. While his bed-in photographs were bumped from the magazine by the death of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Deiter completed several assignments for Time magazine. He also sailed with Greenpeace to protest against a nuclear bomb test in Alaska. Mr. Deiter, who was represented by the Elliott Louis Gallery of Vancouver, lived aboard a boat docked in Victoria's Inner Harbour. In summer, he cruised the coast, photographing landscapes as well as the disappearing fishery and forestry industries. His bed-in photos achieved widespread distribution in recent years. They were included in an exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel last year and can be seen on the recent documentary John and Yoko: Give Peace a Song. Friends will gather on Dec.18 at Swans Brew Pub in Victoria, a short walk from his boat's moorage and a place where Mr. Deiter could be found recounting tales of his friendships with artist Peter Max, poet Allen Ginsberg and Beat writer Jack Kerouac.
Biography / Eulogy
Gerry Deiter 1933-2005 Humanarchive S7D2 Biography Gerry Deiter was born on October 20 1933 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He started experimenting with photography before he was in his teens, wandering the city and recording its color, and teaching himself composition and darkroom technique as he did. He attended university in New York City, and was active in the anti-Viet Nam war movement from the early 1960s. As part of his training, Gerry apprenticed to several of New Yorks top fashion photographers, including the late Francesco Scavullo. He was also recording the exciting contemporary art scene in the city of the mid-60s, including one of the most avant-garde group of artists, The Fluxus Group, of which Yoko Ono was a founder. He photographed many now-legendary jazz musicians, and produced the photos for two early album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. In 1968, the political atmosphere in the US, especially the continuing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, impelled him to move to Montréal, where he continued working in fashion, as well as photographing the colourful and exciting arts and music scene there. In June, 1969 he learned from a friend at LIFE Magazine that John Lennon and Yoko Ono planned to take to bed in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and to invite the entire world to join them, symbolically, in working to restore peace to the world. He and the LIFE writer were granted one of the first interviews with John and Yoko, and Gerry was with them, photographing, for the entire eight days of the Bed-In. Due to a major international news story that broke unexpectedly, LIFE never published the story, and Gerry eventually filed the photos away. But his work came to the attention of TIME Canadas art director, and with this opportunity he eschewed fashion and commercial photography and devoted himself to photojournalism. Gerry worked as a stringer for TIME for the next six years, covering Canadas political scene, counter-culture, and the burgeoning environmental movement. He was a crew member and photographer aboard Greenpeace Too in 1971, on that organizations first campaign to halt the atomic test at Amchitka Island in the Gulf of Alaska, and received credits in TIME and LIFE for his coverage of that story. Another Greenpeace mission 20 years later saw him and his teen-aged son sail together aboard the Rainbow Warrior to protest the opening of a US Navy nuclear submarine testing facility near Ketchikan, Alaska. It wasnt until 30 years after the Bed-In that Gerrys son and friends prevailed upon him to make his images of John and Yoko available to the public. He says the widespread mourning that took place in December 2000, on the 20th anniversary of Johns murder, as well as the growing interest in Johns peace legacy, were the other deciding factors. The events subsequent to September 11th helped convince him the world had to be reminded of Johns message of peace and compassion. Although a working photographer since his early 20s, Gerrys prints had never before been displayed as art; in frames and on walls, as he puts it. Until his first show at a California gallery in 2001, magazine and fashion photography and, primarily, photojournalism were the media through which hes communicated his message. Some of the Bed-In photos were also on exhibition as giclee reproductions for eight weeks at the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria, B.C.
Favorite Verse
In his own words... I had no one to share my grief with. Sitting aboard my boat in an isolated coastal town in northern BC, CBCs evening concert was interrupted by a news flash: John Lennon had just been shot in New York city and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Typically, the first reaction to such news is to immediately share the grief with someone, a loved one, but my grief was more terrible since I was alone, a stranger in a strange place, with no means of contacting the outside world. I thought Id have to carry this burden myself, but as news reports emerged, I learned that crowds were gathering in Central Park and heaping flowers, lighting candles, and singing. I was not alone; the world was sharing my grief. Years before, I had looked into Johns and Yokos eyes and saw their love. I had laughed with them and shared their joy. My mind now travelled back 11 years to June 1, 1969, where in suite 1742 of Montréals Queen Elizabeth Hotel, I participated in, and photographed, the controlled chaos of the Bed-In for Peace. John, with dark, shoulder-length hair and full beard looked like Jesus in white pajamas, while Yoko, her long tresses draped over her shoulder, wore a long, white nightgown. For a week, they had received visitors as they lay in bed; hundreds of people had been through the room: politicians and celebrities, journalists and reporters, photographers, poets, artists, and hundreds of young people whod waited hours in a hot, stuffy hallway to bring gifts and perhaps even have a word with John and Yoko. The event marked the beginning of Lennons ascension from rock star to the leader of a worldwide peace movement. Were not against anything, hed told an interviewer. We are for peace. Earlier that week, John and Yoko had received a phone call from Berkeley, California, where a serious confrontation was shaping up between police and hundreds of people who had been camping in Peoples Park. The conflict had been going on for days, and the obviously frightened caller told John and Yoko that the riot squad was preparing to move in. He asked what message he should pass along to the people. John urged them not to resist physically, but to try and minimize the violence instead. Yoko then picked up the phone and spoke these famous words: All we are saying is give peace a chance. Several days later, John scrawled those words on a poster board and expanded upon them. That evening, a recording studio was set up in the suite and about 40 people, including TV star Tom Smothers and LSD guru Dr. Timothy Leary, surrounded the bed and sang those words in chorus, as John called out the lyrics. In the 36 years since they were recorded, these words have become the root of the first truly global peace anthem, sung in every language, and in every land, where people oppose tyranny and war. John had outgrown his Beatles persona; with Yoko, he continued his work for world peace and justice until he was assassinated. His example, along with the now famous words, became his legacy to the world. The events subsequent to September 11, 2001 made me realize that, more than ever, the world needed to hear John and Yokos message of peace, compassion, and understanding. I could feel Johns presence at my side, giving me his energy and urging me to help him in his campaign. I also realized that the photographs I took during those eight days in Montréal were my own legacy. For the past five years, I have shown the photos and talked about their message in art galleries, movie houses, museums, coffee shops, and music festivals in the US and Canada. They have also previously appeared on the pages of Common Ground. To help remind people that this December 8 marks 25 years since Johns physical voice was silenced, my images will appear at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria as a complementary exhibit to the photo exhibit Linda McCartneys Sixties. I feel privileged to help bring Johns message to the world.
- Gerry Deiter, whose photographs of John Lennon's 1969 bed-in went unseen for more than 30 years, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Mr. Deiter was on assignment for Life magazine when he spent eight days photographing the famous Beatle and artist Yoko Ono in bed at Suite 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Life never published the photographs. Mr. Deiter only revealed his collection as part of an effort to promote peace following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The photos have since been widely praised, both for their intimacy and their documentary rigour. Twenty-five of Mr. Deiter's works are currently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Mr. Deiter took part in events at the museum on Thursday marking the 25th anniversary of Mr. Lennon's death. Mr. Deiter later appeared on a live radio broadcast. He collapsed the following day while walking downtown. Born on Oct. 20, 1934, in Brooklyn, Mr. Deiter was a Manhattan fashion photographer before moving to Montreal in protest against the Vietnam War. While his bed-in photographs were bumped from the magazine by the death of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Deiter completed several assignments for Time magazine. He also sailed with Greenpeace to protest against a nuclear bomb test in Alaska. Mr. Deiter, who was represented by the Elliott Louis Gallery of Vancouver, lived aboard a boat docked in Victoria's Inner Harbour. In summer, he cruised the coast, photographing landscapes as well as the disappearing fishery and forestry industries. His bed-in photos achieved widespread distribution in recent years. They were included in an exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel last year and can be seen on the recent documentary John and Yoko: Give Peace a Song. Friends will gather on Dec.18 at Swans Brew Pub in Victoria, a short walk from his boat's moorage and a place where Mr. Deiter could be found recounting tales of his friendships with artist Peter Max, poet Allen Ginsberg and Beat writer Jack Kerouac.
Biography / Eulogy
Gerry Deiter 1933-2005 Humanarchive S7D2 Biography Gerry Deiter was born on October 20 1933 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He started experimenting with photography before he was in his teens, wandering the city and recording its color, and teaching himself composition and darkroom technique as he did. He attended university in New York City, and was active in the anti-Viet Nam war movement from the early 1960s. As part of his training, Gerry apprenticed to several of New Yorks top fashion photographers, including the late Francesco Scavullo. He was also recording the exciting contemporary art scene in the city of the mid-60s, including one of the most avant-garde group of artists, The Fluxus Group, of which Yoko Ono was a founder. He photographed many now-legendary jazz musicians, and produced the photos for two early album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. In 1968, the political atmosphere in the US, especially the continuing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, impelled him to move to Montréal, where he continued working in fashion, as well as photographing the colourful and exciting arts and music scene there. In June, 1969 he learned from a friend at LIFE Magazine that John Lennon and Yoko Ono planned to take to bed in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and to invite the entire world to join them, symbolically, in working to restore peace to the world. He and the LIFE writer were granted one of the first interviews with John and Yoko, and Gerry was with them, photographing, for the entire eight days of the Bed-In. Due to a major international news story that broke unexpectedly, LIFE never published the story, and Gerry eventually filed the photos away. But his work came to the attention of TIME Canadas art director, and with this opportunity he eschewed fashion and commercial photography and devoted himself to photojournalism. Gerry worked as a stringer for TIME for the next six years, covering Canadas political scene, counter-culture, and the burgeoning environmental movement. He was a crew member and photographer aboard Greenpeace Too in 1971, on that organizations first campaign to halt the atomic test at Amchitka Island in the Gulf of Alaska, and received credits in TIME and LIFE for his coverage of that story. Another Greenpeace mission 20 years later saw him and his teen-aged son sail together aboard the Rainbow Warrior to protest the opening of a US Navy nuclear submarine testing facility near Ketchikan, Alaska. It wasnt until 30 years after the Bed-In that Gerrys son and friends prevailed upon him to make his images of John and Yoko available to the public. He says the widespread mourning that took place in December 2000, on the 20th anniversary of Johns murder, as well as the growing interest in Johns peace legacy, were the other deciding factors. The events subsequent to September 11th helped convince him the world had to be reminded of Johns message of peace and compassion. Although a working photographer since his early 20s, Gerrys prints had never before been displayed as art; in frames and on walls, as he puts it. Until his first show at a California gallery in 2001, magazine and fashion photography and, primarily, photojournalism were the media through which hes communicated his message. Some of the Bed-In photos were also on exhibition as giclee reproductions for eight weeks at the Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria, B.C.
Favorite Verse
In his own words... I had no one to share my grief with. Sitting aboard my boat in an isolated coastal town in northern BC, CBCs evening concert was interrupted by a news flash: John Lennon had just been shot in New York city and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Typically, the first reaction to such news is to immediately share the grief with someone, a loved one, but my grief was more terrible since I was alone, a stranger in a strange place, with no means of contacting the outside world. I thought Id have to carry this burden myself, but as news reports emerged, I learned that crowds were gathering in Central Park and heaping flowers, lighting candles, and singing. I was not alone; the world was sharing my grief. Years before, I had looked into Johns and Yokos eyes and saw their love. I had laughed with them and shared their joy. My mind now travelled back 11 years to June 1, 1969, where in suite 1742 of Montréals Queen Elizabeth Hotel, I participated in, and photographed, the controlled chaos of the Bed-In for Peace. John, with dark, shoulder-length hair and full beard looked like Jesus in white pajamas, while Yoko, her long tresses draped over her shoulder, wore a long, white nightgown. For a week, they had received visitors as they lay in bed; hundreds of people had been through the room: politicians and celebrities, journalists and reporters, photographers, poets, artists, and hundreds of young people whod waited hours in a hot, stuffy hallway to bring gifts and perhaps even have a word with John and Yoko. The event marked the beginning of Lennons ascension from rock star to the leader of a worldwide peace movement. Were not against anything, hed told an interviewer. We are for peace. Earlier that week, John and Yoko had received a phone call from Berkeley, California, where a serious confrontation was shaping up between police and hundreds of people who had been camping in Peoples Park. The conflict had been going on for days, and the obviously frightened caller told John and Yoko that the riot squad was preparing to move in. He asked what message he should pass along to the people. John urged them not to resist physically, but to try and minimize the violence instead. Yoko then picked up the phone and spoke these famous words: All we are saying is give peace a chance. Several days later, John scrawled those words on a poster board and expanded upon them. That evening, a recording studio was set up in the suite and about 40 people, including TV star Tom Smothers and LSD guru Dr. Timothy Leary, surrounded the bed and sang those words in chorus, as John called out the lyrics. In the 36 years since they were recorded, these words have become the root of the first truly global peace anthem, sung in every language, and in every land, where people oppose tyranny and war. John had outgrown his Beatles persona; with Yoko, he continued his work for world peace and justice until he was assassinated. His example, along with the now famous words, became his legacy to the world. The events subsequent to September 11, 2001 made me realize that, more than ever, the world needed to hear John and Yokos message of peace, compassion, and understanding. I could feel Johns presence at my side, giving me his energy and urging me to help him in his campaign. I also realized that the photographs I took during those eight days in Montréal were my own legacy. For the past five years, I have shown the photos and talked about their message in art galleries, movie houses, museums, coffee shops, and music festivals in the US and Canada. They have also previously appeared on the pages of Common Ground. To help remind people that this December 8 marks 25 years since Johns physical voice was silenced, my images will appear at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria as a complementary exhibit to the photo exhibit Linda McCartneys Sixties. I feel privileged to help bring Johns message to the world.
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